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A lot happened during the two weeks that followed the death of the King.
GB stayed at Matthias’s farm for the duration of the two weeks. Matthias was not a good conversationalist, but played the bagpipes, to the chagrin of GB and most others who visited. Ivy eventually showed up, and was visibly annoyed with GB, for not communicating his self-imposed hiatus from the city. She impressed on the pup that he did good work, no matter what the apparent outcome had been. Answering a pointed question from GB, she said that she had seen Matthias and Hobbes in the same room at the same time.
Lark stayed at Primeheart’s camp with some others for a few days, before he made his way to the Green Iron Village. He played games with the Goblins and worked with them on a large treehouse at the entrance of the village, complete with a slide and a quick-escape pole. He eventually received a Sending from Jastra.
I know you might not want to talk to me, but I can really use a friend. Meet me at the Knowledge Temple.
Lark did not respond immediately and the chance to answer passed. Lark went to the temple and met a pale human priest named Desmond, who led the goliath to an office. The priest gave Lark a sealed envelope from Jastra. It contained a lock of hair, tied with a blue ribbon, and a note.
Dearest Lark, Thanks for being a beautiful moment. I will miss you.
Lark then pontificated a reply to the previous Sending, but it was to no avail. On Foster, the celestial bear, Lark wandered the city and admired the people. He ended up at the Arasys Estate, lingered for a bit, and left a letter for Jastra in the doorway of the building.
The group went about their normal duties the morning of Renaris10th. Rosie put up a sign that said “Sunflower Dreams” at the new shop and then had breakfast with Daisy. Primeheart wheelbarrowed soil from the Skyroot Forest to the new shop for Mari’s garden. He then spent the majority of the morning in the Dawn District, feeding the hungry with divine magic and teaching those who desired to learn the art of gardening.
GB visited with Ivy at the Beer Forge. Lark played with the goblins and then checked on the letter he left, which had been taken. Kali attempted to decipher her book. Cyl cleaned her feet then visited Whatever, who had a yellow flower pin on. She reciprocated by painting a similar flower on her arm.
The group convened at the Beer Forge for their lunch meeting. Lark entered and talked to GB about his treehouse and the wonders of bagpipes. They were introduced by Rosie to Daisy, for the third time, albeit this time on the same side. Lark informed Daisy that her old crate was now his toybox. He had also received a tattoo on his arm that said “Goliblin”, a mix of goliath and goblin, marking him as an honorary goblin. Kali, Cyl, and Primeheart entered and introduced Kali to the rest of the group. Kali offered to buy everyone drinks, even Daisy. The gnome tried to pay Kali back, but was rebuked, and she finished her drink before leaving.
Aldion casually entered and ordered a drink before sitting down with the group. He had been speaking with Pinbol and was informed that we knew the potential truth about the Leviathan attack. He impressed on them that convincing the common folk about this revelation would prove to be difficult. He informed the party that the city was creating a council of leaders from each district and Afra was the most popular candidate for the Guildsmen District. Pinbol and Lord Arasys had, thus far, turned down leading the Pearl District.
Aldion then went on to talk about combining the tomes into a singular physical form to re-set the enchantment for new members. The party talked about having no guidance for their next course of action and, after a bit of thinking, Aldion shared a few thoughts he’d been mulling over.
Aldion said Pinbol shared a little about what VKTR had done. The magics that created the Nocturne was wholly unique to them. It took a lot of power.
Aldion explained that the Undermyst connected the Prime Material plane to Faewild, and nothing else existed like it. The Underdark might get you to the Abyss, but that was different. VKTR created a connection to another plane by sacrificing Imelda and leaving her in the other plane. They had aimed for the Positive Energy Plane, but blamed their failure on the Keysmith. Instead, they had created a realm that connected our world to the Negative Energy Plane, the Shadowfell.
The portal connecting the planes was somewhere underneath the city. Part of why Tyrell had been so powerful, was this connection. It was also why VKTR members had lived longer than they should have. Aldion stated that his new goal was to right some of the wrongs VKTR had committed.
Aldion had been considering bringing rival adventuring guilds into the city to bolster the economy and act as a cover for the group’s activities. The portal below the city needed to be closed and the group’s mission was to find them to do just that. The first place to start looking was a crack in the cliff, beyond the castle grounds, a few hundred feet down. This entrance was unguarded, but could have a lot of creatures from beyond.
The group went to Barge Bargains, a boathouse store with attached storage-boats. Smokey River, a fire genasi, operated the shop. Smokey was known for thinking that sunburns were a myth and for juggling his own wares as a coping mechanism to deal with the stress of working with the public. He was gruff looking, with a bit of glow to his head and smoke about it in a bit of a halo. His neck scar slowly and infrequently streamed smoke. The party purchased 300 ft of silk rope, a couple sets of pulleys, and a climber’s kit with a harness for GB.
The Crescent was near empty as they approached the castle ruins. There was not much left from the castle and any secret underground entrances were caved-in. The remnants of a picnic sat near the edge of the cliff, its contents picked clean.
Primeheart, with Lark listening, communicated with a seagull to find the crevasse in exchange for food. He then scared it away from continued begging. Kali used rope, the climber’s kit, and some pitons to make her way down the side to establish an easy descent for the others.
The crack divided into a maze of tiny tunnels, cracks, and pathways. After initial examination of the first spider webbing area, the tunnel resolved into three main tunnels to continue exploring. One had a fresh breeze, one had a stale smell that may not have breathable air further down, and one smelled of the salty sea air. They made notes of the pathways and headed back to town.
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